Halifax secure victory over Derwent in closely fought college hockey encounter

February 2, 2012
Dan Holland

Halifax recorded a somewhat unconvincing victory over Derwent on a frozen JLD on Sunday.

They ultimately ran out 4-2 victors, but were pushed hard by a Derwent side that lost 11-1 to Alcuin the previous weekend.

Derwent started as the brighter of the two sides, flashing a tempting ball across the face of the goal from a free hit.

But they soon found themselves a goal down against the run of play, as Alex Francis launched a superb break, bursting out of his own half, before passing to Rory Walker, who hammered his shot into the bottom corner.

Almost immediately, though, the scores were level once again.

Greg MacDonald picked up a loose ball and fired calmly into the empty net to put Derwent back on terms, though there were claims from the Halifax players that his shot came from outside the D.

Halifax reacted well to the setback and began to dominate possession, but they could have fallen behind.

MacDonald had another great chance, which would have given his side the lead, but scuffed his effort wide of the target after finding space for a shot.

Derwent were made to pay for that miss just a few minutes later, Graeme Osborn sliding a powerful shot past Allison Wise to make it 2-1 Halifax.

By this stage, Halifax were looking the much sharper of the two teams, their crisp passing proving too much for the Derwent defence .
And when Osborn was denied his second goal by the post after excellent control by Shin on the left wing, Derwent were glad to hear the half-time whistle.

Halifax’s dominance continued at the start of the second half, Shin wasting their best opportunity as he miscontrolled at the far post when unmarked.

Derwent were unable to keep possession long enough to mount a meaningful attack, and the ‘Fax pressure paid off when a long clearance sent Shin clean through on goal; he took his time and calmly slid the ball into the net, making it 3-1.

It seemed as though Halifax would go on to widen the gap between the sides, but some spectacular last-ditch defending prevented them from doing so.

Nicky Johnson and Simon Varley both cleared off the line, before Varley did so again to deny Osborn.

And with five minutes left on the clock, Derwent clawed their way back into the game as MacDonald spun on the edge of the D and lashed a thunderous shot into the far corner to set up a tense finale.

Derwent’s Jack Bradshaw smashed a shot just wide of the far post, but it was Halifax who had the last laugh, scoring with the final touch of the game.

As Derwent piled men forward in hope of grabbing an equaliser, Shin was again left in acres of space down the right flank.

His cross was inadvertently turned into his own net by the diving Chris Hopkins to seal a hard-fought 4-2 win for Halifax.

Afterwards, Halifax co-captains Helen Marston and Hannah Boyne had this to say about their side’s performance: “We played really well as a team and battled hard.
“We’re really proud of the result, particularly as they were difficult conditions out there with the pitch being frozen.”

Derwent’s Nicky Johnson was pleased with her side’s performance despite the defeat, saying: “I thought we played well and were very unlucky.

“The new team is starting to settle in now and we’re hoping that we can pick up as the season progresses.”

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